Industry Tackling Avionics Complexity Issues AIN Polledreaders Toiden - As Technology Advances and in Many Accidents, Confu the Solution,However, Isnot - - -

granular issuesandmore to intended tofocus lessonsuch avionics systems, thisreport is plaints are specifictocertain thepilots’ com- While someof how theyare addressing them. asked avionics manufacturers complexity andconfusion,then tify theirissueswithavionics them withcomplexity. confusing helps pilotsinsteadof offer aroadmap toafuture that ultimately technology should designers are working on,and manufacturers andavionics but itissomethingthat aircraft does notappear tobethecase, into moderncockpits?Alas, this ing timesfor pilotstransitioning ity, shouldn’t thisreduce train same timereducing complex useful capabilities while at the that it canadd significantly ogy hasadvanced tothepoint technol- more complex? And if pilots’ jobs easier instead of why can’t itbeusedtomake tively. technology issogreat, If capabilities safely and effec must learnhow tousethese add aburden for pilots, who this apparent benefitcanalso added tomoderncockpits. But more andmore capability is offers greatly enhancedfeatures, manufacture avionics. companies that designand course, the agencies and,of regulators, safety experts and remains top-of-mindfor pilots, a new subject,but onethat have beenafactor. Thisisnot sion inthecockpitseemsto long programs with price tags training days to nearly month- is justnoroom toadd yet more technology advancements. There long andhaven’t shrunkwith training programs are already Large-cabin business jet initial necessarily justmore training. ine how toovercome them. highlight challengesandexam- Industry Tackling Avionics Complexity Issues AIN polledreaders toiden - As technology advances and In many accidents, confu The solution,however, isnot - - - -

FOTOLIA jets and turboprops but alsolight common notjustin business called glass cockpits—became in software andengineering.” turism isacommonproblem the background: creeping fea- pushes thisbasicprincipleinto dents examined inthispaper, theacci mostof the caseof desirable features often,asin software toimplement ity of The seemingly unlimitedabil- systems isto‘keep itsimple.’ cepts inengineeringcritical the mostbasiccon “One of department, madethispoint: Aeronautics and Astronautics Technologysetts Instituteof a Ph.D. in the Massachu Conference, Nancy Leveson, International SystemSafety a paper presented at the 2001 Recent Aerospace Accidents,” prevent that accident? different designhave helped so, coulda confusion, andif have contributed to the pilot’s to thesystemdesignthat might tion: was there anything related but one could also ask the ques happened. This mightbetrue, the accident might not have pilots received more training, assumption isthat hadthe accidents where thepost-crash approaching $100,000. As moderntechnology—so- SoftwareIn “TheRole in of There isalonghistoryof - - - - porating integrated glasscockpit now that lightaircraft are incor as pilot-in-command. However, lots toholda type rating toact been addressed by requiring pi- Part 25aircraft systemshaveof “the complexity andvariation pounds. The Board believes that weighing more than12,500 powered airplanes andthose a typerating isrequired for jet- though thereal difference isthat 23 versus Part 25 airplanes, al- training requirements for Part commented onthedifferent also interesting that theBoard crease,” theNTSB noted.Itwas operation will continue to in- age andmonitorequipment mands placedon pilots to man- comes more complex, thede- the new technology. the FAA related toadoptionof making six recommendations to the study didresult intheNTSB mine aprecise trend. However, craft fly, soitishard todeter how much general aviation air on questionable assessmentsof effect, but thestatistics are based glass cockpitshadabeneficial craft,” researchers found that pit Avionics intoLightAir GlassCock “Introduction of accident rates. Ina 2010 study, avionics would have aneffect on try wondered whether the new aircraft, theNTSBandindus A “As aircraft equipmentbe- vionics ------“system architectures” among There are asmany different this claimcouldbeinaccurate. ing onaspecificaircraft type, focused train does consist of rating training helpsbecause it specific training and study. It’s to operate theavionics without avionics, and figure out how another, eachwithdifferent to jumpfrom oneairplane to became impossible for apilot cific commands. Essentially, it eachdevice’smemorize spe face, forcing pilotstolearnand turer developing its own inter complexity, witheachmanufac bilities, GPS added yet more complexity.of For allitscapa moved fartherdown thepath ing navigation inputs, cockpits all the various sensors provid the central interfacetomanage ment systems (FMS) became manageing cockpits and flight - DME, ADF, comandsoon. a The samewas generally trueof made by adifferent manufacturer. thenavplane, even radio was if easily transferred toanotherair to tuneanav radio inoneairplane integrated systems. Knowing how today’spanels insteadof highly or individual boxes mounted in used tobeso-called“federated” however, becausemostavionics training” is worth scrutinizing, aircraft. more thanonetypeof to another. Andpilotsoftenfly tem doesnotnecessarily transfer sys onetypeof knowledge of the light aircraft, andmuch of Part 25 airplanes as there are in er systems.” are notlikely totransfer tooth- glasscockpitdisplay one typeof es to failure and knowledge of ating techniques, andrespons- tectures require different oper aircraft. Different systemarchi- these be sufficient for pilotsof systemstraining mayalized not those inPart 25aircraft, gener avionics that rival in complexity But when Rnav startedenter The pointabout “generalized Although itistruethat type- by MattThurber ------

© 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to www.ainonline.com powerful tools. Onceone truly avionics suites are incredibly these avionics suites.of Today’s architecture that isat the heart software designphilosophy or ‘whys,’ otherwiseknown asthe take thetimetolearnare the the ‘hows.’ What theyoftendon’t ics suites. Theylearnthebasics: with their‘state-of-the-art’ avion learn enough tobe functional these aviatorstainly not all, of discovered that many, but cer ness aircraft, headded, “Ihave pilots who fly theirown busi he toldAIN.Indiscussionswith pilot aviators is‘tasksaturation,’” the big issues for single- “One of Single PilotWorking Group. the NBAA Safety Committee’s sors, isanactive participant in More Study Needed important subject. ics OEMs’ insightsintothis followed by majoravion responded toAIN’s request, comments from pilots who for overwhelmed pilots? but ismore training theanswer the old“more training” plea, selves; allitdoesisfallbackon theavionics them plexity of thecom address theissueof ommendations doestheBoard to specificequipment.” and evaluation must betailored ly; effective pilotinstruction ate glass cockpit avionics safe- ficient toprepare pilotstooper and training are nolongersuf- ed that guidance generalized er systems. TheNTSBconclud- are notlikely totransfer tooth- glasscockpitdisplay type of one failure andknowledge of techniques, andresponses to tures require different operating es. “Different systemarchitec- training nolongersufficalized - Part 25systemsandthat gener systems are justascomplex as ed that Part 23aircraft avionics have becomesolengthy. no wonder typetraining courses consultancy Grey Stone Advi James Lara, a principal at This report firstsummarizes Nowhere inthe NTSBrec For itspart,theNTSBnot------tecture, achieving mastery of the the tecture, achieving masteryof understands thesystem’s archi lated to the way certification mental problem in aviation, re- annual AirVenture show. EAA asawards at chairman the andvolunteersflies withthe lins andisnow retired but still Honeywell and Rockwell Col Apple, Boeing, Gulfstream, technology. Hehasworked for and how pilots interact with opinions about avionics design certificates, andhehasstrong and pilotwithATP andCFI humanfactors, anengineer of The HumanFactor the bare] minimums,” hesaid. [meeting eschew acceptanceof excellence and be inpursuitof the ‘hows.’ usneedsto Eachof ‘whys’ andnever besatisfied with tice. You must understandthe tion, experimentation andprac- require rigorous study, applica not even close. However, itdoes thetechnology onthefly.”of one cansafetyachieve mastery right seat. There’s noway that about strapping intotheleftor before youyourself even think ever, that you really have toapply easily. There’s noquestion,how the functionalproficiency came tecture (which was notdifficult), understood thesoftware archi lators, we went toclass. Oncewe als andworking withthesimu After goingthrough themanu electronic form, thankfully!) documentation (in pages of tion was accompanied by 1,300 [avionics]Garmin the installa ‘steam gauges’ replaced withthe tremendous. When we had the tors andstand-upclassesare educational materials, simula screen navigators. “Garmin’s truly ‘incommand.” but oneistobe it’s essentialif take some time and dedication, tively straightforward. Thisdoes most arcane functionality is rela and GTN650750touch suite with the G500 display He believes there isafunda- Ed Wischmeyer isastudent “Does ittake aPh.D.? Nope, behindaGarmin Lara flies A vionics ------it? It’s always beenthat way. this way; we like it,why change tradition: “We’ve always done it and thevendor fallsbackon tomer screaming for achange, time ontheschedule, nocus a budget tomake itbetter, no good” and there is no longer is already considered “pretty ‘Let’s fix it.’” But the design good, but thensomeonesays, get to 95 percent, and it’s pretty the perfectuserinterface. You extraordinarily difficult toget Another problem is“that it’s user interfaces,” heasserted. design are designing avionics mal training in user interface but lousyfor systemsdesign. That’s great for missionsuccess, takes to accomplish the mission. with afocus on“whatever it itary and airline backgrounds, regulators often come from mil their [act]together?’ Whyall thisstuff? can’t theyget that I’m[older],it’s ‘Why learn I learned,aren’t Icool? Now thought, ‘Lookat allthisstuff When Iwas ayoung pilot,I stuff, orwhat akludgysystem. we are becausewe know allthis [Either it’s] lookat how cool no way it can do a good job.’ modate allthegotchasthere is as theavionics have toaccom- is poorly designed,andaslong at allthesegotchas, thesystem aren’t we wonderful? Or‘Look we mastered allthesegotchas, ed, “Lookat us, we’re socool, on. Thetwo ways are, headd- they fly, IFRprocedures andso files for different airplanetypes symbols oncharts, specificpro- tion neededtofly safely: the tering allthearcane informa- prideinmas- certain amountof meyer suggested.Pilotstake a interpreted two ways,” Wisch- into thesystem.“Thiscanbe to overcome the “gotchas” built timeandeffort learninghow of spend anextraordinary amount ronment where pilots have to and thishascreated anenvi - holds backnew developments, down to the early stages of down totheearly stages of “[This whole subject] gets “Very few peoplewithfor In Wischmeyer’s opinion,the - - - about the design of the systems thesystems about thedesignof Read theLabel can’t figure itout?’” liant designer, how come you [the attitude is], ‘I’m thebril time thedesignisimplemented, ered inthedesignstage. Bythe these issues are seldom consid- will dofor theoverall workload, how itwillbeusedandwhat it functionality. of Butinterms the requirements andprovide ically designasystemtomeet requirements. People willtyp geting new pilots instead of more more geting new pilotsinstead of itive” andthat the systemistar that itsdesignis“counter-intu his “gripesheet,” and hebelieves about theG1000systemlistedon with G1000,according toTaber. two systemstakes much longer ing pilotsunfamiliarwiththe escape hatch togetout.” Teach in the menus that you need an push, push.You cangetsofar work. Dial,dial, push, of menu-driven. It’s a[boatload] ence apaper chart,andit’s it soyou don’t have torefer think they’re trying to design it tothebox.” With G1000,“I and tell planyourself a flight Line much simpler. “You make he findstheFMS-basedPro added. When planning, flight G1000 andPro Line,” Taber osophical difference between decks. bothflight flies can be confusing for apilot who uses thepitchwheel, andthis a rotary knob, while theG1000 airspeed bug withPro Lineuses he said.For example, setting the button orknobinsameplace,” things except there’s notasingle ferently. “Theyalldothesame panel can be designed so dif guidance important as the flight understand why something as flies. Fundamentally, he can’t installed intheairplaneshe avionics, hasstrong opinions Pro G1000 LineandGarmin with bothRockwell Collins charter KingAirsequipped system designand Bennett Taber, who flies Taber has many other issues “There’s afundamentalphil ------

© 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to www.ainonline.com Avionics experienced pilots who have been harmonization and that it was that glazed look on their face.” at 400 knots. Especially when flying for many years using more set by the feds,” he said. There are two areas Keyes given a heading off the Star traditional systems such as FMS. Keyes has experienced issues feels should be addressed by and then cleared back to a fix As an example, he pointed to the that have taken a long time to the industry. One is harmoni- on the Star and ‘descend via process of selecting a waypoint fix, in Honeywell’s case a Vnav zation of avionics among man- and comply with the altitudes using the G1000 system; the speed problem where the cor- ufacturers. “It would be nice if and speeds.’ When the Star or waypoint always begins with a rect speed was not held during nomenclature, colors and basic SID is assigned, and the actual “K” instead of a blank space. an arrival, and the airplane was human-factors [elements] were flight doesn’t have any changes, Another example is that the allowed to accelerate to the set harmonized. On a dark and the box is great, monitoring is G1000 provides weather infor- speed of 300 knots then slowed stormy night after flying ten- routine and it performs on the mation in plain English instead to meet a speed constraint. What and-a-half hours, every bit that money. Changes are the issue.” of coded, which is far more he is concerned about is that “it can help you out is good.” • “The Garmin G1000 I familiar and comfortable to introduces chances of human The other move should be learned behind was intuitive. Taber. In his opinion, these fea- error,” and also that major soft- more line-oriented flight training The thing is that you need to tures “dumb down” the design, ware update cycles take so long exercises during initial type rating learn the order the system is although some human-factors because of certification require- training. Training providers tend going to expect or provide experts might dispute that. He ments that problems can persist to stick to the FAA-approved information. Most of the time also isn’t a fan of the highway- until the next update. airports in their systems, and pi- it is based on the chronolog- in-the-sky display that seems Keyes also experienced lots end up not practicing ap- ical order of the flight crew ubiquitous in modern general early problems with autotun- proaches that they typically fly. duties. Starting with the desti- aviation avionics but is seldom ing in Honeywell cockpits, but “Let’s do a Teterboro depar- nation, then the clearance, stan- seen in larger airplanes. “Why once these were fixed, the prob- ture to a complicated arrival in dard departures if available, en would anybody put highway-in- lem became one of persuad- Washington, D.C.,” he suggest- route navaids and approaches the-sky in their system? Have you ing pilots to trust the autotune ed. “The two circling approach- at the destination. The only ever met anybody who actually feature. “It’s not that it’s a big es that I do I have never trained time things go wrong is when uses it? Talk about wasted band- deal to do it the old way,” he in the simulator. We don’t fly into things depart from the normal width. Nobody flies like that.” explained, “but that introduces Memphis and Kennedy a lot, but sequence, or one manufacturer New technology has changed another human-factors element. Teterboro and Palwaukee; those might have a different way of how pilots interact with avionics, I’ve seen guys put in the wrong would be the airports where we entering the data. An example: and Taber recognizes that. “In the course or frequency. The whole should do [the training on cir- the Universal FMS and the old days, you turned a knob, and idea is to eliminate that error.” cling approaches]. It’s not about Collins Pro Line 21 units were that’s what happened. Now you With increasing avionics making it easy for a test. Try cir- both fantastic, but the data have to make sure it’s doing what complexity, Keyes, who is his cling at Palwaukee on a dark input sequence was as different you asked. You have to ID the but- company’s safety officer, has and stormy night. That’ll get as driving on the left side of the ton before you push it, then look observed crew interactions your attention.” road versus the right. Both can at the ‘scoreboard’ [flight mode that involve avionics misman- get you to the destination, but annunciators] and make sure it agement. One scenario is where More Pilot Comments in a different fashion. So you does it. [Some pilots] push the a young pilot who understands don’t need a Ph.D., but you do button and happily truck along. the avionics intimately is paired Pilots who responded to need to train a lot more.” One of the biggest challenges is with an experienced older cap- AIN’s request for comments • “I’m not sure just one to get pilots to recognize it’s not tain who is much better at stick- about the issue of avionics com- Ph.D. is adequate to operate what button you push; it’s what and-rudder skills. “The copilot plexity responded as follows: today’s avionics suites. Fifty- the scoreboard says. Is it doing can bang in the box [FMS] no • “So Honeywell and Collins: some years ago when I started what you want now, and is it going problem, but the guy in the left is there any possible justifica- my aviation career we operated www.ainonline.com to do what you want when you seat has no clue what just hap- tion for lack of standardization in a totally different universe. want? As always, read the label pened. Sometimes you get the of such basic things as colors? VOR, ADF, transponders before pushing the button.” opposite; the guy in the right For example, FMS controlled were the new gadgets, and seat doesn’t know the box and speeds: blue in one, magenta in radar was spotty coverage at Unique Perspective the captain also is weak. That’s the other. C’mon guys. Micro- best. Today, I have dual FMS, when I watch from the jump soft needs to buy out both and RVSM, Tcas, XM Weather Corporate pilot Brent seat. I watch things unravel, just do it one way!” and am looking at ADS-B…I Keyes also flies aircraft with and neither one has a good • “I believe the most recent believe we have a serious prob- two distinctive flight decks: idea how to do it. The FAA is challenge is the added complex- lem in the lack of training by the Rockwell Collins Pro Line worried about loss of control. ity to Stars and SIDs, the older the manufacturers of the new 21 in a Gulfstream G150 and I don’t see that. I see misman- boxes [FMSs] and ATC’s grow- avionics. The lack of training the Honeywell Epic-based aging automation, which could ing habit of switching your SID is leading to numerous naviga- Gulfstream PlaneView in the lead to loss of control. That’s or Star while in that phase of tion errors. Another problem I G450 and G550. “In an indus- where I see errors: automa- flight. The box takes time to am seeing is ATC issuing con- try like this where people fly tion mismanagement, vertical program, the crossing altitudes flicting navigation commands multiple airplane types, it mode confusion. Even though and speeds take time to ver- faster than the crew can load

ADS-B in weather and traffic from Avidyne’s new IFD550 and replicates that box’s display on the iPad. The iPad can simply be removed from its bracket to return the instrument panel to its normal configuration.

Garmin “So much more information is readily available,” said Garmin avionics product man- ager Bill Stone. “There’s a thirst for more, but how do you manage that into something the human being can interact with easily, and comprehend and use that data? Our job is to turn that [huge] amount of data into information that can be acted on, without overload- ing the crew and without gener- ating superfluous information.” Rockwell Collins combined vision Garmin employs about a dozen human-factors specialists who work with design Avionics OEMs engineers. A lab flight simula- Avionics manufacturers are well aware of the issues facing pilots as they struggle tor can be quickly configured into a G5000 in a specific jet to overcome the learning curves that come with new technology designed to make or a G1000 in a light airplane. flying more efficient and safe. As new features proliferate, manufacturers and human “It’s one thing to look at the factors experts are working diligently to make sure that adding features doesn’t add equipment and see how easy it is to work,” he said, “but more complexity. totally different when you’re in the airplane and getting task- Aspen the required safety improve- saturated. We can do it in a Commenting on the FAA’s ment. “When we throw equip- controlled environment and allowing more non-TSO’d avi- ment into the airplane without measure response times and onics to be installed in light taking into account usability error rates. That’s a big part of aircraft at the recent EAA and situational awareness, are our developmental processes.” AirVenture show in Oshkosh, we going to have pilots who quit As a relatively young Wis., Aspen Avionics presi- because they can’t handle all the player in the avionics industry, www.ainonline.com dent and CEO John Uczekaj information? When we put all Garmin skipped over the FMS cautioned that just installing a that new technology in, we still generation and therefore isn’t new device might not provide need to make sure pilots know Avidyne IFD550 synthetic vision hamstrung by having to add how to fly with it.” features to that kind of inter- Aspen works closely with the marriage of wireless data face. “As technology moves for- pilots, pilot organizations, transfer capabilities of its IFD- ward,” he said, “we don’t have competitors and its Italian series navigators and Apple to replace boxes, and we don’t partner and research organiza- iPads. The demo showed how have to try to leverage boxes tion CIRA. “They help us with an iPad can be mounted in a like the MCDU [multifunction research and different ways of bracket directly over a typical control display unit] to add using avionics,” Uczekaj said. six-pack traditional instrument functions that they weren’t orig- panel to give the pilot a large- inally intended to handle.” Avidyne format synthetic vision display. What Garmin has been able The iPad in this display runs to do is add functionality to Also at AirVenture, Avidyne Avidyne’s IFD100 app, which its existing systems by expand- Aspen Evolution synthetic vision demonstrated some innovative wirelessly obtains attitude, ing the user interface to touch-

applications resulting from GPS, flight plan, air data and screens, whether on the display © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to tant that thecrew understands face, it’s probably lessimpor and consolidate theuserinter we aggregate a lot more data tant,” according toStone. “As system, “[That] isn’t impor an avionicsing architecture of to understandtheunderly thought that encourages pilots rable display behindit.” a touchscreen is the reconfigu ber which button. Thepower of for therightbutton orremem hand. You don’t have tosearch ing controls only for thetaskat you’re performing. We are offer text-sensitive basedonthetask can beconfigured tobecon power isthescreen behinditthat glass. Thereal touch apieceof “Not becausewe useafingerto user interface,” heexplained. or G5000.“Itmakes for anew G1000 into aG2000, G3000 atively easytoadd toturna with controllers that are rel as in the G3X system or itself While there is a school of While there is a school of ------lems. “Onethingthat isabig avionics complexity probof designs, and he is well aware ics industrywithearly FMS nology, startedintheavion advanced tech president of Honeywell dies, it’s dead.” functionality. When aKX170 fies thepilot,but itdoesn’t lose andnoti reconfigures itself a sensorfail,thesystemjust deck, should In a modern flight exist insingle-thread systems. redundancy that didn’tels of are changingsothere are lev tasks, thosearchitectures of configurable for amultitude it’s anMCDU ortouchscreen- more complex systems, whether com]. Aswe getintomore and gle threads like theKX170[nav changing from traditional sin time, thearchitecture isvastly the architecture. At the same Bob Witwer, Honeywell vice A vionics moving map,left,and Honeywell 3Dairport DynaCharts, right ------requested orneeded,andina ent information only when cockpit displays, why notpres information at pilots on their of justthrowing abunch instead of pilots don’t needrightnow.” complexity associated withwhat industry—is tocutdown onthe doable bothby Honeywell and challenge for us—andit’s very Rockwell decks Collinsflight which isalready and inGarmin ities. Oneexample is touch, with avionics withnew modal ing totheway theyinterface try doesn’t dothat.” easy tounderstand.Ourindus- they need it, unambiguously and pilots withwhat theyneedwhen providing to thewhole ideaof pilots then ornot.Itgetsback time whether interest it’s to of PFDshave datalot of upallthe there’s onthere. somuch stuff A most PFDs today,” he said, “and way that helpspilots?“Ilookat What this means isthat Witwer sees pilots add - - - igators.—Ed.] Icall “What if technology on the GTN nav commands with its Telligence has already implemented voice wer’s team is exploring. [Garmin and thisissomethingthat Wit- in theconsumerworld,” hesaid, G600. “Voice hasmatured alot deckintheG500 and try flight well-based Gulfstream Symme- and people and emphasizing the and peopleemphasizingthe machines [characteristics] of “It’s about drawing onthebest cockpit but rather tohelpthem. to eliminate pilotsfrom the interested inusingtechnology cockpits, and Honeywell is not need when theyneedit. easier for pilotstogetwhat they offered topilots, by makingit where there ismore information is to reduce complexity, even to findit?” heasked. The idea me having it pops upinstead of up, ‘Show meDME data,’ and and iscomingintheHoney to bring more information to The future isonly going Garmin G5000 - -

© 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to www.ainonline.com so on. cleared altitudes, speedsand V-speeds ordepartures from pilots, for example, calling out orative assistantto help single a digitalfirstofficer or collab- showing thecleared routing. the airport, on a 2-D map of ance andturnitintoadrawing pilot’s ataxiclear readback of Similar technology cantake a potential,”a lotof Witwer said. themessages. “This has see allof second column, so pilots could other aircraft are writtenina column onthetablet. Callsfor the user’s tailnumber ontoone to writecontroller dialogue for which usesvoice recognition tion functiononatablet device, onstrated anATC transcrip view.flight way, thedisplay reverts tothe Once theaircraft isontherun- copilot tomonitorthespeed. at an FMS screen orask the need for thepilottolook down speed readout, eliminating the but itdoesadd aprominent taxi tor, airspeedandaltitudetapes, see, suchastheattitude indica- that the pilot doesn’t need to the AMMremoves elements Witwer said.Atthesametime, with situational awareness,” thingstohelpthepilot lot of line and so on. “We can do a barricade at the hold-short intersection, drawing avirtual ing signswhen taxiinguptoan and behindtheairplane, enlarg- an exocentric view from above with added features suchas thetic visionwhile taxiing but map (AMM), which issyn eywell’s 3-Dairportmoving superb situational awareness?” ration that provides pilotswith lish ahuman-machinecollabo- advances inmachinerytoestab [question] ishow dowe apply laboration,” hesaid.“Thebig human-machinecol- notion of Witwer seestwo technology focus ison Another area of Last fallHoneywell dem thisisHon- An example of - - - - - drivers affecting cockpitcom ware and changestotherules to upgrading avionics soft timeandcost mous amountof tory framework adds anenor aware that thecurrent regula needs toembrace.” something Ithinkourindustry mately familiarwith.That’s ity, since it’s adevice you’re inti things can reduce complex- of ity [for the arrival]? Those kinds real and getabettersenseof tion andsendittothetablet theweather at thedestina of I could take my avionics view to look like,” he said. “What if on whatsemi-fluent it’s going dure. “Now you’ll beat least before flying thereal proce themselves withtheapproach on the tablet, familiarizing tually fly through an approach app, which allows pilotstovir let remains afamiliarinterface. airplane types, becausethetab ity isfor pilotswho fly different particularutil- this couldbeof Witwer said.Onearea where is abigengagement area for us,” directly intotheavionics. “This then uploadtablet plans flight plan away from theairport work, allowing pilotstoflight ers are already putting this to Many avionics manufactur ing workload oraidingpilots. offload tablets asameansof of complete theirmissions. pilots’ laps but tohelpthem dump more information into the aircraft. Theideaisnotto sion making,but notcontrol of expert systemtoaidwithdeci- tapping into aground-based capabilities, suchasavionics new will enable allsortsof airborne Internetaccess. This growing connectivity speedof plexity. Oneistherapidly Honeywell, Witwer iswell what’sviews of coming from capability, its Flight Preview this released an example of While those examples are Honeywell hasalready The otherarea isthegrowth A vionics ------information fromthe tablet, and the onboard avionics canvet the else,” heexplained. Aslongas and have themrunsomewhere installedboxes rithms outof not safetycriticalandgetalgo- can take functionalitythat’s we’refar faster. “If smartwe tions, at least,couldbeupdated let device meansthat itsfunc try,” hesaid. “It happens a lot in this indus- another 1.5 years to implement. major release, which couldtake might getbundled intothenext sidered aserioussafetyissue, it aproblemcases, isnotcon if Insomein thenearer term. for pilots could bring relief fit Fusiontouchscreen cockpit Textron Aviation onaretro ing withDuncanAviation and and retrofit) andnow work deckforflight King Airs (new first withthePro LineFusion ogy withtouchscreen interfaces, quickly into modern technol Rockwell Collins interest andfocus.” to data. Thiswillbeanarea of complexity and swifter access jobs easier, growing becauseof efficiency and make pilots’of before to drive a greater level ogy that was notavailable tous look at how toapply technol on safety, but we’ve alsogotto ‘We cannever loseourfocus ics andOEMs, tolookandsay, us, thepeoplebuilding avion I thinkinmany ways it’s upto but Iseeitasabuilding wave. There’s nocertification tothat. getsfixed the fleet onthecloud. let, itgetsfixed rightaway, and you findaproblem onthetab interface. “All asudden when of bilities but withalesscomplex the avionics takes onnew capa- information isreasonable, then thatthe pilotscanconfirm the some functionality toatab The idea of offloading The idea of Rockwell Collinsispushing “I think it’s coming slowly, ------to program anFMS. “Now in pilot doesn’t have tolookdown touchscreens up front is that the havingsteps. Anotherbenefitof havingabsence tomemorize of sition, intuitive simplicityand tems. Pilotslike theeasytran- for business andregional sys marketing schwartz, director of tive, according to Adam Evan- ment panel. full touchdisplays intheinstru the KingAirsandCJ3features the Pro LineFusionsystemfor just touchscreen controllers, as with touchscreen displays, not business jetthat willbecertified installation lookstobethefirst for theCitation CJ3.TheCJ3 takeoff and landingsafety,takeoff tions, particularly for approach, value pilot-in-the-loopopera research for customers who nition. “We continue todrive ers are evaluating voice-recog said, Rockwell Collinsresearch- interactivity, Evanschwartz ing widerusesfor touch them,” heclaimed. screens andeven rave about become familiarwiththetouch “It doesn’t take themlongto use only the pedestal controls. Collins, andinitially planto avionics programs for Rockwell said Matt Carrico, afellow in about using the touchscreens, simplify operations,” hesaid. devices aswell, toadd value and tunity touseothertouchscreen pedestal. “There isanoppor the or onatiltpanelinfront of thepanel MFD inthecenterof haps notasPFDsbut asan their way into larger jets, per Touchscreens could even find intuitively withinformation.” interact graphically andmore and usingthetouchscreen to up, eyes onthemaindisplays completed withpilotshead- thosesameoperations many of the KingAir,” hesaid,“we see touchscreens hasbeenposi Pilot feedbackonthe In addition toexplor Some pilots are skeptical ------

© 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to www.ainonline.com we dofocus oncybersecurity aircraft getmore connected— connectivity equipment.“As craft are flying withairborne fact that more business air its Arinc Direct unit and the planningside,flight aidedby ity problem from the pre is approaching the complex ufacturers, Rockwell Collins the community.” whereize we think it benefits to work together tostandard deck.Weon theflight dotry humanfactorstopics range of committee deals with a whole said Carrico. “TheSAEG10 the entire community,”efit of work onstandards for theben- Eurocae andSAE.“We tryto ting groups suchasRTCA, with industry-standards-set works onhuman-factorsissues syntheticvision.” efit of there that willbeanotherben- added. “We’ve got some work useful for upsetrecovery, he Synthetic vision might also be flying more intuitive andsafer.” vision ontheHUDasmaking see technologies like synthetic up display] technology. We and inparticularHUD[head- on pilots, Rockwell Collins new features ease the burden Like other avionics man To ensure that allthese Sandel Avilon ------is exploring is “the application approach that Rockwell Collins with that, Carricosaid.One sure pilots can effectively deal complexity and how tomake increasing address theissueof den. Theindustrydoesneed to that add tothetraining bur ing new operations suchasFans adopt- but there isthefactorof pilots canpractice anywhere, avionics onportable devices so itate pilottraining, emulating have toworry about it?” extract that sopilotsdon’t data. How doweamount of wearing out,allthat massive somethingany faults, hintsof that flight, biguous record of wethe flight, want anunam- able condition?Attheendof the airplaneisindispatch paying attention towhether Shouldn’tthe tarmac? hebe plan whenthe flight sitting on we force thepilottoprogram lot tobesaidfor that; why do and sophisticated. There’s a planes becomemore complex workload asairspaceandair productivity and manage their “This helps pilots increase automatically,” saidCarrico. the systemstoshare data ate vulnerabilities—we allow and make sure we don’t cre Technology canalsofacil A vionics - - - - - of automation where ithelps of fectly into theNextGen and operationsflight that fit per designed toexploit path-based age called Avilon, which is market with anavionics pack- ing intotheKingAirretrofit Sandel Avionics commonality there.” skills andfoibles, sothere is pilots who allexhibit thesame us are designingfor human values story. Ultimately all of philosophy andbranding and not. Eachbringsitsoperational some publicly disclosed, some some casesdojointprojects, with OEMs,” hesaid,“andin nology road-mapping sessions to sortthat out. an industrywe’re goingtohave adding all this complexity. As didn’t askenoughaswe began plicity. These are questions we automation topromote sim We’re askinghow we canuse puting power and we can do it. because we have all this com mation for automation’s sake, automation asopposedtoauto- theright critical application of airplane more complex. It’s a the pilotrather thanmakingthe Sandel Avionics isbreak “We maintainregular tech - - - - - that is fairly complex, with fail result isanoperating process pilots.mation infront The of can,’ sowe have putthat infor crept intocockpits, ‘becausewe sumer electronics industryhas in aworse situation.… Thecon failure modes, pilotsare tion of problem that requires a recogni there isa mal conditions, but if sor. “It’s badenoughinnor pilotandPBNadviflight-test - recently the company’s senior sales and marketing but until of Steve Fulton, now Sandel’s v-p buried ininformation,” said graphics, andpilotsare use of igation (PBN)protocols. Sesar performance-based nav- technically advanced cockpits, is underserved. Aswe lookat they need.Thisisanarea that that peoplehave accesstowhat we’re makingprovisions so strong ideas about that, and an importantpart.We have stay proficient. Training is to interpret andhelpthepilot 4-D navigation. ment; we have notjust3-Dbut develop in thefinalstages of This is a great time with Avilon inform how we’re doingdesign. we’re usingthat positionto NextGen,” he explained, “so aware what isintendedwith of ations. “Sandelisinvolved and safely when flying PBN oper flow together efficiently and time—and how aircraft can ing thefourth dimension— PBN andotherissues, includ sory Committeeandfocuses on at the RTCA NextGen Advi be fairly simple.” duct theseoperations needsto the capability, andhow tocon- space includePBN. We need FAA’s plansfor upgrading air We want tomove forward. The ure modes that are not friendly. information, simple enough we provide therightlevel of “Current cockpitshave poor “We want tomake sure Fulton represents Sandel ------

© 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to www.ainonline.com Air engine limitations are Air engineinstruments. “King can bemore effective.” done, andit’s more flexible and tation. So much more can be doesn’t suitadynamic presen roundin static dials displays of color standard that worked well pit soitisconsistent.Butthe standardize in any one cock something elsetonew features. them in a rigid way and assign enough colorssowe canassign what’s happening. There aren’t mation sothepilotcanfollow it theneedfor separating infor eration togeneration, andwith functionality ischanginggen for notstandardizing isthat “The largest reason in my mind to doitthat way,” saidFadden. industrywanted could bedoneif necessarily therightmove. “It ing rigidcolorconventions isn’t to solve thoseproblems. Assign- and theAvilon suiteisintended rounding avionics complexity, well aware theissuessur of airspace hasit.” vertical display. AndNextGen the samewillhappen withthe “People gravitate toit.Ithink been incredibly fast,” hesaid. the map display has tance of duced [inaircraft], theaccep “Since maps were firstintro thevertical dimension. cially of using graphical displays, espe to simplifythepilotinterface The Avilon designisintended nical advisor DelmarFadden. eral aviation,” saidAvilon tech Sandel, particularly in gen of wrong withtoday’s technology? to answer thequestion“What’s avionicsproblem complexity, of Avilon was created tosolve the been impressive.” out, andtheresults haven’t their own tofigure them pilots are pretty much on pretty bad,intheestimation One example of thisisKing One example of “We thinkitisimportantto Sandel says itsdesigners are theartwas “The state of Ultimately, Fultonexplained, ------for itgoesintothat PBN. If airplanes that aren’t equipped could seethisgoingintoolder architecture,” Fadden said.“We limit expires. change thecoloruntiltime with the time limit. We don’t said, “we can give them help limit onared indication, he there is a time attention, and if thing that warrants immediate tion canshow thepilotsome one applies.” Ayellow indica- and tryingtofigure outwhich data looking at ascreen fullof limit at atime, soyou’re not the limits. “We putuponly one scales that move according to arcane limits.” ble remembering themore No wonder peoplehave trou- ments are allover theplace. tained inthenotesandcom reasonable, but thelimitscon- ber. Thetable intheAFMis tion. It’s really hard to remem another gaugehasalimita thisgaugereads that, then if interaction; “There isalotof really complex,” heexplained. “We’re radically changing Sandel’s solutionisdynamic A vionics - - - - Interactive Cockpit onstrated astheOneDisplay pilots. Theeffort was firstdem solve complexity problems for modernairspacebut also of meet notonly thePBNneeds Thales planes aswell.” it willmigrate toward newer air class and shows the advantages, by touching thedisplay. The and functions can be controlled pilots, and all aircraft systems puts one large display in front of cockpitarchitecture.” of included inthecurrent designs functionalitiesthat canbe of the complexity andnumber fast approaching thelimitof that theaerospace industry is pany toldAIN,“we realized and digitalaircraft,” thecom unveiled in2013. 2020 cockpit,which Thales that work ledtotheAvionics the 2009Paris AirShow, and years oncockpit designs that Thales hasspentmany The Avionics deck 2020flight “In our work on connected Solution at - - - ics experts, human-machine Thales worked with ergonom play touchscreen interface, to create theirown variables.” operators andOEMsthemeans manage themission;[and]give use allavailable information to to Thales:“crew-centric design; focuses onthree pillars, according as colors. Thedesignphilosophy reconfigure some features such however, anduserswillbeable to display’s features won’t befixed, interface specialists and psy tion neededwhen itisneeded.” fore, thepilothas informa- and reaches decisions; there how thehuman brain works plays itinaway that mirrors (public information) anddis ics andfrom the‘openworld’ tems, both from secure avion merges data from different sys- Thales explained. “This design most intuitive way possible,” an operational decision in the play that helps the pilot reach uations, we developed adis decisions underdifferent sit how the humanbrain reaches chologists. “To understand To theone-dis optimize Universal InSight ------

© 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to www.ainonline.com tion intheCitation VIIandhas undergoing retrofit certifica integrated InSight suite is now an integrated deck.The flight ics manufacturers that makes thefew avion is alsooneof neer inFMSdevelopment, Universal Avionics airframe partners. it hasnotyet announcedany onics 2020 cockpit, although EASA on certifying the Avi with operations centers. tracking isfacilitated vialinks Health monitoring and flight is baked intoAvionics 2020. airspaceuse,optimize andthis and Sesarcommunications to focused onintegrating NextGen more efficiently.” Thalesisalso “to helpmanage themission with Avionics 2020andused and these could be integrated used for off-aircraft planning, such asEFBs, which canbe external devices the benefitsof ufacturers, Thales recognizes Thales Avionics2020cockpit Universal Avionics, apio Thales isworking withthe Like otheravionics man - - - - - plan thensuggest adeviation and compare ittotheflight take weather information ipates anew feature that will able today, DeHerrera antic he said.While this isn’t avail with themostlikely scenario,” so we’re presenting thepilot “That way we cancleanitup flight. for thecurrent phaseof the pilot information needed InSight deck isflight to give what’s goingoninthecockpit.“ thepilotby knowing front of smarter about what we put in tronic format. We canbealot and shove them intoanelec dials did was take hundreds of to have thiscockpitwhere allwe some logic toit.We don’t want but it’s gottohave value and do,” he said. “That’s all great, “There’s you can somuch stuff seemingly unlimitedoptions. whom new technology offers avionics manufacturers, for ognizes thedilemmafacing MD Explorer. the ters for thelatest version of been selectedby MDHelicop How thistakes form inthe CEO Paul DeHerrera rec A vionics - - - - - he noted,“but thetransition direct entryoncertainitems, Pilots stillneedtobeable todo going tochangedramatically.” according toDeHerrera. “It’s coming intheFMSinterface, unit (ECDU),there are changes FMS electronic control display dure andrunway. most likely approach proce and automatically pluginthe the destination weather report around severe weather. Or use This could take the form of This could take the form of recognized by theavionics. troller instructionsthat are mands, but couldalsobe con- way, from pilotvoice com nition.” This is not justone voice recog the powerize of noted. “People don’t real nity withvoice,” DeHerrera into theFMS,” hesaid. that datalink andfire itright tion intotheFMS. “We willget still hastoentertheinforma ing more common,someone datalink clearances are becom- communications.” Although is going to be more electronic While InSight still has an “There isalsoanopportu------lessly withmobiledevice apps, a real gamechanger.” cool stuff, andit’s goingtobe getting betterandbetter. It’s the pilot.[Voice recognition] is could make itmuch cleanerfor smart onthis,” hesaid,“andit setting. “We could get really the pilot needs to change the ting window toindicate that simply highlightthebaro set- setting. Or the system could and thepilotacknowledges the queues upthebaro setting, ognizes theinformation and eter setting.Theavionics rec- controller provides thealtim an enterbutton. Orsay the and acknowledge by touching would checktheinformation plan,andthepilotinto aflight translating vocal instructions the pilot.” make itintuitive andusefulfor That’s the secret to trying to decks.do thingsintheseflight There will bemultiple ways to the way we’ve always doneit. to make sure they can do it to forget that. We’re working doing things. We don’t want ple want theexisting way of that’s tricky [isthat] somepeo much more intuitive. Thething controllers, which makes it trying to do more with fewer cient,” DeHerrera said.“We’re pedestal. “It’s much more effi having tolookdown at the on the panel displays without will allow pilotstosetitems a cursor control device. This ECDU, which willbeusedas a touchscreen interfacefor the avionics,trol of intheform of working ontouchscreen con- he said. and squirtitintothe[avionics],” ment thencometotheairplane depart theflight comfort of more planninginthe flight “Now we’re goingtobedoing uploading themintoInSight. for creating plansand flight InSight already works wire- Universal Avionics isalso o - - - -